On this new chart you’ll notice that some roof ventilator brands (e.g. Solar Vent) are no longer are available, and that some companies have introduced new roof ventilators to the market (Edmonds Odyssey) and that market leading products have further improved their designs (Solar Whiz).

It is worth noting that over the last 4 years or so – we have seen a large number of roof ventilation brands entering and exiting the market – indicating that although there are many products to choose from at any given time – not many newcomers survive!

As we’ve said earlier, whirlybirds are not normally the best product option for roof ventilation on the market. Solar ventilators seems to be the way to go for cost effectiveness and high airflow rates.

What to Look Out for in the Roof Ventilation Alternatives Chart

The roof ventilation alternatives chart outlines the information as it has been published by the different manufactures.

However, be aware that it seems that manufactures use different ways of measuring air flow – making it difficult to compare the airflow for the different brands.

Only Solar Whiz, Edmonds and Solar Star seem to publish the actual airflow for their units – the rest of the units in the chart appear to base the published air flow volume on theoretical figures

Methods of Measuring Air Flow

When Solar Whiz introduced their new RAF range last year – it appeared that the new models offered lower airflow, however what we found when digging a bit deeper is that there seems to be two different approaches to indicate airflow capacity:

Actual capacity

Theoretical capacity

It appears that the major players who have been in the market longer: Solar Whiz, Edmonds and Solar Star – apply the actual maximum capacity of their roof ventilators (with restrictions in the air supply), whilst all other brands appear to publish the theoretical maximum capacity of the fan itself – without restrictions – such as the cap of the unit, which of course is essential for any roof ventilator to be functional.